Denver Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony glares at referee Haywoode Workman (66) as he leaves the court following an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs Thursday, Dec. 16, 2010, in Denver. San Antonio beat Denver 113-112.

Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov said today his team is no longer interested in pursuing Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony.

“There comes a time when the price is simply too expensive,” he said during a news conference in New Jersey this afternoon. “I’m instructing our team to walk away from the deal.”

Nuggets executive Masai Ujiri declined to answer questions about the Nets, but before the Nuggets game he said his team has been in talks with “plenty of teams” and there is no “negativity” toward the Nets.

Anthony put the saga aside and had a game-high 35 points in the Nuggets’ 112-107 win Wednesday night against visiting Oklahoma City.

“I’m sure he was tired of the back and forth,” Anthony said of Prokhorov’s decision. Then added: “It gets (to be) a lot for everybody. (Prokhorov’s) got to focus on his team and his future with that team. I respect that.”

During an on-court interview with Altitude after the game, some fans still in the arena booed the Nuggets star.

“I’m never distracted. I’ve been in worse places in my life,” Anthony said. “I don’t expect any cheers. It is what it is. The boos are the boos. They are going to keep coming.”

Anthony said he did not see the news conference, but just heard that the Thursday meeting with Prokhorov was off.

“It’s been too long and too expensive,” Prokhorov said of the trade talks which have dragged on for months. When asked if that was a final decision, he responded, “for sure.”

“It’s my own decision,” Prokhorov said. “(The Nuggets) had a very good proposal. They probably did their best to protect their interests.”

Before the Nuggets’ game against Oklahoma City, coach George Karl said he was “not surprised” by the Nets’ announcement.

“I think I’ve been one of the guys hinting that this was a lot further away from happening than you all think,” Karl said. “My billionaire friend from Russia has thrown a curveball or knuckleball into the process. If it’s true, it’s true. If it’s a ploy in negotiation, then all that’s for the guys upstairs to figure out.”

Prokhorov was asked if the fact that Anthony would not commit to signing a contract extension to join the Nets was a deciding factor in walking away from the deal, and he said: “I never met with Carmelo and I never spoke with him. Maybe he sent me an e-mail but I never use computer, that’s why, maybe, I missed it. Or maybe carrier pigeon got lost.”

After Sunday’s game in San Antonio, Anthony was asked about a potential meeting this week with New Jersey executives. He said: “I don’t want to talk to nobody. I let the front office handle that type of stuff. It ain’t my job to be talking to New Jersey, New York, Lakers, Dallas, no one. I still won’t step into something like that. I’ve seen a lot of people go through that.”

Prokhorov spoke today at a news conference after arriving on his private jet from Russia.

When asked if he’d spoken with the Nuggets to tell them the deal was dead, he said: “No. You’re the first to know.”

Asked if the deal would remain undone, even if the Nuggets returned with a counter-offer and Anthony said he would sign long-term with the Nuggets, Prokhorov said: “I was absolutely clear on this matter.”

Nets general manager Billy King said of the Nets’ decision: “We discussed it and this is what (Prokhorov) he came up with. It was his idea.”

King said he sent a message to the Nuggets while Prokhorov was speaking to the media: “I haven’t got a text back.”

Asked what was most frustrating about the trade process with the Nuggets, King said: “Everything.”

“It was just, the process was different,” King said. (The Nuggets) had an ownership takeover, new management. It was the perfect storm for something to go wrong. … This time, it took a life of its own.”

King said he wasn’t “startled” by Prokhorov’s decision. “There were times in my mind that I thought ‘enough was enough,’ ” King said.

King added: “There were a lot of names thrown out there, every player on our roster except Brook (Lopez). … Hearing your name bantered around every day, whether it’s true or not, is not a good part of the business.”

Anthony never talked with the Nets, King said.

“We never talked to him. We got permission, but never did.”

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